Azad asks J&K Govt to identify safe land for border people

JAMMU, Nov 1:  Strongly condemning the ceasefire violations by Pakistani forces, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad today asked the Jammu and Kashmir government to identify land five kilometres away from the border for rehabilitation of affected people.

The district dispensation is asked to explore possibilities for identification of suitable government land, about five km away from the International Border (IB), to accommodate the people of border areas, ensuring them a safe world to live in, Azad said during a visit to areas along the IB in Samba district.

Expressing concern over the education of children in the affected areas, the minister assured the people that possibilities would be explored to relax qualification criteria for them during recruitment drives.

He slammed Pakistan for cowardly acts targeting innocents and advocated constructive dialogue for an amicable relationship between the two countries.

During his visit to Mawa, Suchetgarh Kullian, Chambalyal and Nanga, Azad interacted with the people to understand their problems and demands.

Residents of the areas complained about various issues including grave hardship in day-to-day agriculture activities, RBA status, settlement of refugees’ issues, etc.

Azad assured them that he would take up all the issues with the concerned authorities as early as possible. (AGENCIES)